Slander, followed by rework and overview of cards powercrept/forgotten #1

Much to the dismay of most users on this sub, Gwent is in a dogshit state. There's simply no denying it.

The powercreep, both from the recent expansions and from previous patches has many numerous cards unplayable (thanks Renfri, you thrice-cursed twat). Bugs remain unfixed, archetypes remain underpowered and forgotten. Shit just doesn't get tested at all before it gets released. All we get is incremental progress pushed by people who don't know their game (balance =/= fun, after all) which brings more issues that the community can only complain about before leaving, knowing every problem taken under notice is a monkey's paw ready to curl.

Anyway, that's the slander part. Let us discuss cards that have fallen off and saw next to no play, and ways they could be buffed/reworked to not litter the card pool. After all, constructive discussion followed by brainstorming of ideas is simply more productive, though much less entertaining, than complaining.

First one, the An Craite Armorsmith. It its current in-game iteration, it is a possible 6 for 4 with no chance of providing more points to the player. It has no additional tags, it doesn't synergise with any Healing cards (boost is not heal and will not trigger Heal-related effects like Havfrue Singer) and it doesn't provide any special effect that would make it worth running. It currently synergises, and I mean truly synergises, only with Drummond Berserker and Blueboy Lugos, two cards which we haven't seen much in recent memory. To be frank, it's a fucking terrible card. Into the trash it goes.

Proposed buff? Give this card a place in Warrior decks and a damn good reason to run it. I propose two options.

1.Armorsmith will become an unconditional 6 for 4 (3 power 3 boost) and will gain Order: Activate an Allied Unit's Veteran ability. This will give SK a cheap method of moving certain cards out of harm's way, let you gain precious carryover (and in the case of Skjordal and Bjorn, additional damage as well), possibly bringing his potential points from 6 to 8 or even 10 points. The downsides are Armorsmith's low health, lack of Zeal and requirement of having other units on the board to boost if one wishes to attain full value.

Should this version prove too powerful due to aforementioned carryover (and general lack of anti-graveyard techs in most factions), the Order could be changed to instead Infuse a Warrior with a Timer or only work on Bronzes, so as to ensure there are more ways to deal with it (Destroy it, Lock it, Purify the Infused Warrior to deny Carryover)

1. Armorsmith will become an actual armor provider while doubling as a possible engine. By providing a single unit with large amount of protection, the Armorsmith enables other engines to be played safely, letting Warriors increase their card pool to Selfwound units and bring back cards such as Drummond Berserker. Additionally, the Barricade will ensure that any Armor left on the Armorsmith will still pay off as Vitality, provided the enemy doesn't Purify it.

Such are my suggestions. I hope that they will not be ignored, though I have little hope for the game as is. This wall of text is over.